Rolf Niedergerke (1921–2011): a life in muscle research

Abstract

This obituary provides some detail and background to the life and work of a pioneer of muscle physiology, Rolf Niedergerke, who died in December 2011 aged 90. His name is perhaps most widely known for his role in the discovery of the sliding filament mechanism of muscle contraction in collaboration with Andrew Huxley (which complemented the independent studies of HE Huxley and Jean Hanson). His other major contributions were to the 'calcium story' of muscle activation, particularly for the heart. In a long career, his intellectual and experimental excellence contributed some keystones of our present understanding of the role of cellular Ca 2? in muscle contraction and cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and of the Ca-Na exchange process.Keywords Obituary Á Calcium-sodium antagonism Á Excitation-contraction coupling Á Cardiac muscle Á Sliding filament mechanism Á Calcium fluxes Á Heart muscle Á Calcium-sodium exchange Á Cardiac action potential Rolf Niedergerke, a pioneer of muscle physiology, died on 27 December 2011 aged 90. He is perhaps most widely known for his role in the discovery of the sliding filament mechanism of muscle contraction. His other major contributions were to the 'calcium story' of muscle activation, particularly for cardiac muscle. He retained a reserved personality throughout his long scientific life, notably eschewing many opportunities he had to present his work at conferences or through review articles. His scrupulous attendance to the limitations of experimental work resulted in publications that were full of detail and insightful caveats but were often challenging for his readers. He was reluctant to speculate beyond what he felt the data permitted. Despite a long and active career, he published fewer than 50 papers. To present-day workers this will seem a modest total. However, ten of his works have each been cited more than 100 times (at an average of 275 by March 2012). The case can be made that his work was more influential than even this impressive citation rate attests.